The Energy Project

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”  - Benjamin Franklin

The other night I gathered a bunch of Type A business entrepreneurs together at a bar after a full day of balancing meetings, emails, smart phones, iPads and laptops.  They entered the space with lots of anticipation to learn from author Tony Schwartz how they can better manage their ENERGY, NOT TIME, to get more productivity from themselves and their employees.  

Tony’s theory is that people work within four general zones of energy production: high performance, survival, burnout, and recovery.   Obviously, when we are in the high performance zone we are most productive.  The stress level in the room went into the burn out zone when Tony told us that we had to unplug for defined periods of time to enter the high performance zone more often.  

“Don’t mistake activity with achievement.”  - John Wooden

We each need to identify what time of day we are most productive and what those conditions are when we can perform at our best.  Forget about spending more time at work.  Figure out when you have the most energy and what those conditions are that enable you to gather and spend your energy most efficiently.  This will help you maximize your output.  

“Information overload is a symptom of our desire to not focus on what's important. It is a choice.”  - Brian Solis

Distractions - especially emails, texts, and tweets - drain the juice out of our highest energy periods. There were a ton of questions about how to really implement his suggestion that we unplug regularly. Everyone wanted to be able to do it, but wasn’t sure that they could.  But sure enough, not one phone appeared during the ensuing cocktail hour.  Tony’s discussion sparked motivation in the room, and everyone was practicing for their new energy plan.

One of my biggest take-aways was about spending time with my kids.  Tony’s advice was to focus on quality not quantity.  So often I find myself spending physical time with my kids but mentally somewhere else.  If I cut back the time but make the time 100% focused on them, it will be much more beneficial to all of us.  

To learn more about how you can get the most out of your energy and maximize performance, visit www.theenergyproject.com.    

Seeing is Believing

“Avoid the precepts of those thinkers whose reasoning is not confirmed by experience.”  

Leonardo Da Vinci, Thoughts on Art and Life

I asked a young acquisitions associate to go look at a property I was thinking about buying so that he could assess it and tell me what he thinks it’s worth.  He came back an hour later with an answer.  I knew that he hadn’t seen the property in person because it was an hour’s drive away.  He did some online research and tried to impress me with a quick answer.  I wasn’t impressed.  

As much as I am an advocate of technology and am proud to be an early adopter, I feel it is critical to physically see each and every property - and its environs of course - that I consider purchasing. The numbers and secondhand observations that this associate found online were not enough for me to move forward.  He could have come back to me a few hours later with a much more convincing answer.  I don’t think it’s worth making a multi-million dollar mistake to save a few hours.

So I went to see the property myself with a doctor friend in tow (on the way home from our daughters’ synchronized ice skating competition in CT), and she told me that she has the same problem with residents.  They stay glued to their computers and don’t spend enough time with the patients.  The test results are critical, but so are conversations with and physical examination of the patients.    

I saw a few good films on this subject recently: The Trouble with the Curve and The Internship - two very different movies and both worth seeing.  One is a drama with the great Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams, the other a goofball comedy with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.  Both end up with the same profound message that success comes when you connect with people, not just numbers.  I recommend both of these movies.  Vince Vaughn’s repeated motivational references to Flashdance are laugh-out-loud hilarious, and he and Owen Wilson effectively teach the 21 year old tech prodigies interning at Google how to succeed by connecting personally with each other and with their potential customers.  Clint Eastwood sticks to his guns in assessing the talent of a hotshot rookie who has nuanced flaws that the spreadsheets could never reveal.

What or who are you going to connect with today?  

At The Finish of The Great New York 100 Mile Running Exposition with Race Director Phil McCarthy

Team Finish Line

Normally when I visit Times Square I point at all of the freaks - like the Naked Cowboy or the guy dressed in the Batman suit. But this past Saturday morning at 5 am, 43 other crazy people and I are about to set out on a run around New York City that will cover over 100 miles, more than 24 hours of continuous running, and every major park in the city.  The race starts off with a great National Anthem rendition by a relative of one of the runners under the bright LED Ford Motors sign with a flag over top, and then the gun goes off.

While we still had 100% energy, we traversed Central Park first.  The only people up and about pre-dawn were runners and bikers aiming to get their workout done before the heat picked up and the kids woke up.  While I often have this goal in mind, today was a completely different story.

We watched the sunrise while running over the Henry Hudson Bridge as we entered the Bronx.  I already missed a few turns on my way to the second park, Van Cortlandt, and wondered how I would navigate this race with sleep deprivation and heat exhaustion later in the day.  We had a lovely run through the park until we hit the gang with the pit bulls and changed course toward the grass over to the left.

Ever since I saw the movie City Island, I have wanted to tour this mysterious place off the Bronx shoreline.  Somehow my professional mentalist running partner, Oz Pearlman (ozpearlman.com), must have gotten it into my head that City Island was part of the race because he and I started running over the bridge and onto the island only to find out 5 miles later that it was not part of the race route. Now I was suddenly committed to a 105 mile race.  Next time you see Oz at an event and he tries to read your mind, think City Island with Nick Jekogian.

Next destination is the Triboro Bridge. The only problem is the road we are running on isn't taking us the right way.  Maybe the guy with the Atlanta Falcons hat can help.  10 minutes later we are way more confused and now definitely headed the wrong way. The police officer ahead must be able to help us find the Triboro Bridge.  But he informs us that pedestrians are not allowed on the bridge.   I guess he doesn't know that we have connections.

We finally find our way through Hunts Point and then onto the Triboro. First stop is Randalls Island and then on to Astoria, Queens.  Wow is that a beautiful and very crowded pool down by the bridge.  It’s amazing the characters that help runners get through an ultra marathon.  At mile 40 there is the young girl handing out oranges and hugs to every runner.  Her positive spirits stays with us for the next 10 hot miles toward Flushing, Queens.   

On our way to Flushing we pass by the hotels across from LaGuardia Airport. I was very impressed at how full the Plaza Hotel (of Queens) looked for a summer weekend.  It was fascinating to see tourists walking around as if they were in Midtown Manhattan.  This is why you can never trust the internet.  "Look hon, we got a room at the Plaza for $89/night".  Too good to be true.

Queens is probably one of the most ethnically diverse areas in the US.  We ran past Indian weddings, Hassidic Jews (after sunset), Asian graduation parties, and Puerto Rican soccer games.  The amount of people I ran past on this 100-mile run was probably greater than the average person sees in a year!

Another stop at an aid station and I experience the nicest man in the world. This guy not only stayed at his station all day long to cheer in the runners but he also provided spray lubricant to the crotch areas of all the male runners to help comfort that extreme chafing we were experiencing.  The split second he applied the spray was one of the happiest moments of the race.

As it starts getting dark I run through Howard Beach (the mob capital of NYC) and then down into the Rockaways.  Now my feet are starting to feel hot due to running in soaking sweaty socks for the past 70 miles.   Time to change my shoes and pop some blisters.  Glad I had a safety pin in my bag.  Should have brought a match to sterilize it.  

As I take a break to change shoes and meet up with my  support running partner, I listen to the rave music coming from a temporary igloo built on the beach.  (I’m pretty sure that was real and not a hallucination).   

At midnight, after running for 19 hours, you know that this is not an individual sport. The only way to get over that finish line at mile 100 is with a great support team.  I probably had one of the craziest mixes of team members and it worked wonders.

First was Aly, my wine loving, new to running friend who was all set to break records while I was set to walk briskly towards the finish.  Next was Kirk, the fitness club guru, who was ready to motivate me to keep going against all the pain, the unbelievable darkness of the Rockaways, and the traffic of the Belt Parkway into Brighton Beach.  Through lots of coordination and texting of map points on the iPhone, we manage to find our way to the next aid station where Alan and Sam are waiting patiently for us. Sam gives me some words of encouragement and attempts to even run a bit while she is on crutches. As much as I would have loved the extra company, I am glad she doesn’t join us so that I don’t have to explain that one of my crew outran me on crutches.

Alan and I proceed through the streets of Brighton Beach.  Boy was it tempting to stop in for a shot of vodka at one of the rocking Russian nightclubs that was open all night. I must have looked like an alien to all the drunk patrons leaving the club.  The Coney Island boardwalk was quite an interesting sight at 4am.  Couples walking hand in hand, teenagers jumping in the water, hookers looking for their next trick, and a lot of people looking at me like I was the weird one.

A few more hours of running (mostly walking at this point) and a chance to watch the sunrise from under the Verrazano Bridge.  I could now count on my fingers the number of miles left to the finish line, that is if I was awake enough to count.  The blisters were so bad on my feet that I was doing the opposite of what every running magazines tells you to do.  I was running on the heels of my feet since it was the only place without blisters.

Henrik joined my run through Brooklyn and most importantly kept me awake during the most difficult hours of the run.  Hats off to Ali.  Brooklyn went swimmingly because she came bearing the gift of Red Bull.  I guzzled it down and kept on walking towards the Freedom Tower which was standing tall just 3 miles away.  In that last 3 miles of Brooklyn we go past more churches and religious establishments of various faiths than probably exist in most US states.

And then I come to the Brooklyn Bridge.  What a sight!  We are almost in the city. After the gruesome climb to the apex, I feel like rolling down the other side.  Alan meets up with us again at the end of the bridge and the Ali/Alan team bring us in for the homestretch.  At this point their main job is to keep me from walking in front of a bus. Not easy job while I am trying to keep the momentum going.

We finally make it to mile 100 after 29 hours (the race was actually 100.2 miles) and we see the biggest supporter of all - my dad.  He has just gotten to the finish line after he parked the car and put away all the supplies that he carted behind me for the past 40 miles. He probably put about 200 miles on his car carrying my support team back and forth between Manhattan and various Borough locations.  He experienced unexpected bridge and tunnel closings and got to see the nightlife of NYC. Just like almost all the other crazy races my brother and I have done over the past 11 years, he was there from beginning to end and never stopped helping.  He is a great inspiration for my brother and I although I am sure that at the finish line we don’t usually have the strength to show our gratitude.  Thanks Dad - for everything!

Ultramarathon, which on the surface sounds like a very individual sport, is not.  It takes a team of family and friends like I had this weekend to get me over the finish line.  It’s interesting to think about all the greatest athletes we know.  We all know their names, but it’s their support crew like mine that really got them over the finish line.

Thanks again to everyone that helped me make it happen. Especially my wife Yael who has been dealing with my insane  training efforts and races for the past 11 years since I started endurance racing.

ABC (Always Be Closing) / SBS (Sometimes Be Selling)

I often write about Signature Group’s acquisition process because I love buying buildings, but this week I’d like to share the other side of the deal: the sale (possibly because we just accomplished quite an impressive one).  Due to some external tax opportunities we discovered after owning a small portfolio of apartment units in Queens for a little more than 5 years, we decided to sell.  

"And while the law of competition may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department." - Andrew Carnegie

We never use brokers to help us source deals on the buy side, but when it comes to selling we really do like to hand it off to them.  In this case we used a nonexclusive broker group, gave operating information to a number of those who were interested, and let them compete.  We received offers ranging from $15M to $21M. The most persistent broker brought us the best price and terms, and ultimately did the deal.  

A big part of our business model is buying right.  Of course everyone would agree on this, but it’s important to remember to also focus on sale, structure, and negotiations.  We definitely mastered this art on this deal.  

"Competition is the keen cutting edge of business, always shaving away at costs." - Henry Ford

Making Miracles Happen in NYC

CNNMoney reports that the average cost of a wedding as of January 2013 is $28,400 nationwide, and almost $77,000 in Manhattan.

So when my brother-in-law told me that his budget for his Saturday evening, June, Manhattan wedding was $4,000, I had a private chuckle and waited to see what would happen. When his first catering idea of a gourmet taco truck fell through (I still would have loved to see that), he remained confident that he could spend $10 per person on the food. I can’t buy lunch for myself for that price.

On June 8, 2013, my brother-in-law married the woman of his dreams in Manhattan. They had a beautiful ceremony and threw a festive celebration. Everyone was well fed and served plenty of alcohol, and we danced all night. There were wedding cupcakes with freshly made whipped cream and berries on top, and there are plenty of professional-quality photographs to document the occasion.

The final cost of the entire wedding was indeed less than $4,000. This is a rounding error for many Manhattan weddings, where many brides couldn’t even finance the flowers with that much money.

My brother-in-law did something that most people would consider impossible. But he had a woman he couldn’t wait to marry, an idea for a beautiful ceremony and a smash of a party with his friends and family, and a budget that he couldn’t exceed. He believed, and he made it happen.

I would have never thought of my ultra-liberal, Bed-Sty, thrift store brother-in-law as an entrepreneur, but he pulled off an incredibly entrepreneurial stunt if I ever saw one.

The ceremony was in the serenity of Central Park’s Conservatory Garden. His best friend became ordained on-line and performed the ceremony. Permit: $400. Best friend as officiant: priceless.

The party was at a community center in Hell’s Kitchen with a European-like courtyard where dinner was served under the stars and Manhattan skyline. The director of the center ran around all night helping with whatever the task of the moment was. Rental: $1,000. Director bending over backward to help: priceless.

The guests were served delicious Creole cuisine at a buffet with more than enough spicy chicken, rice and beans, and vegetarian options. Catering for 80 guests: $900.

We drank Yuengling, Prosecco and wine all night. Instead of paying pricey hotel premiums, he likely purchased the alcohol at Costco for a savings in the 10s of thousands.

Bro-in-law’s friend “spun” the tunes from his MacBook, and kept the dancing going all night. Another friend snapped pics all night. Of course neither charged a dime. Another friend lovingly made all of the desserts and provided them as a gift to the bride and groom.

After all other incidentals, they did not exceed their budget. I was so impressed and inspired by this feat. It just goes to show that when creative people are given an opportunity to make the impossible happen, there are those who take charge, think creatively, go outside the box (or hotel), and make it happen. There are also those who run off and elope. Fortunately for me and all the guests at last weekend's festivities, Jordan followed his heart and made it happen.

Whenever I hear people say they can’t get something done in NYC because of the outrageous cost of doing business or the red-tape, I am going to be telling this story of a young man and his dream wedding.

Jordan - Congratulations on marrying the love of your life and for creating a meaningful, spectacular wedding out of what many in Manhattan consider pocket change. You are an inspiration. Best wishes to you and your beautiful bride.

App Dreams

There is mystical talk of the Wow! features the iPhone 6 will have when it appears, but no launch date has yet been speculated.  Even so, my 10 year old daughter has begun her marketing campaign to acquire one of the first specimens and replace her “ancient” iPhone 4.  As an early adopter myself, it takes a lot of restraint to not spoil my kids when it comes to technology.  It’s interesting to watch kids today not only enjoy technology (if not obsess over it), but also anticipate the next breakthrough more and more.  

This weekend, I took my 2 young daughters to the World Science Festival at NYU.  We attended a seminar called “Cool Jobs” where four scientists, three of whom were women, spoke about their cool science jobs to an auditorium full of kids.  I think this is the first “seminar” my kids ever attended, and they were fascinated.  They heard from a food scientist, video game designer, roboticist, and biomedical engineer who specializes in nanotechnology.    

While scientists have historically (and currently) been branded as nerds, it seems that with the boom of social media there is now an extreme cool factor to the nerdiness.  Nanotechnology seemed to me to be the most abstract job in the seminar, but the biomedical engineer Michelle Khine was the most dynamic presenter of them all and the one that made the biggest impression on my daughters.  My kids’ first seminar, and a bunch of scientists made it fun!

My younger daughter participated in a robotics demonstration where she hid behind movable walls on-stage while other kids tried to find her remotely using a robot.  Technology that would ultimately be used for post-natural disaster search and rescue or a quest for life on Mars was able to be explained to children using the game of hide n seek.  As children become more engrossed and interconnected to technology, their ability to imagine the future is blossoming.  When my kids graduate from college there will probably be so many new types of careers available that we aren’t even dreaming of yet.

So while we are waiting to see what the iPhone 6 will ultimately do to make our lives better, easier, faster, more interesting, more fun, and more fulfilling, my daughter can continue to dream about the possibilities, butter me up, and just make do.  I think she’ll manage, but the anticipation is priceless.

What features are you looking forward to in your next Smartphone?